Climate controlled seat

Abstract

A vehicle seat has a seat bottom and seat back. The seat bottom can have a ventilated insert located between the seat upholstery and the seat cushion. The insert can be in fluid communication with the cabin space of the vehicle. In one arrangement, the insert has a cover with holes and a body. The cover and body cooperate to form a plurality of plenums for passing air through the insert. A fluid system can deliver air to the insert so that the air passes through the plenums and directed out of the holes in the cover. The air then flows out of the vehicle seat to control the climate around the person in the seat. The insert can also be used to remove air near the seat by drawing air proximate the seat into the insert. The air can then pass through the insert and is delivered to the fluid system.

1. A vehicle seat comprising:
 a seat bottom that comprises a seat cushion that has a front end, a rear end and a pair of sides extending from the rear end to the front end, the seat cushion defining a seat thigh area near the front end of the seat cushion and a seat area between the thigh area and the rear end, the seat cushion further defining a recess region that comprises a hole region extending through the seat bottom and a plurality of channels extending from the hole region; and 
 an insert comprising a cover and a body, the cover and the body cooperating to define a manifold at least partially positioned in the hole region of the seat cushion and a plurality of elongated passages that extend from the manifold and are at least partially positioned in the plurality of channels of the seat cushion and are disposed adjacent to an upper surface of the seat, the cover having a plurality of openings, each of the openings being in communication with at least one of the plurality of elongated passages so that fluid can pass through the cover through the openings, the body being formed at least in part from of a material that is less permeable to air than a substantial portion of the seat cushion; and 
 wherein the hole region and manifold are positioned between the seat area and the thigh area of the seat cushion and wherein at least one of the plurality of channels and elongated passages extends from the hole region and manifold towards the thigh region and at least one of the plurality of channels and elongated passages extends from the hole region and manifold towards the rear region. 
 
   
   
     2. The vehicle seat of  claim 1 , wherein the body comprises a plurality of channels that define lower portions of the plurality of elongated passages a substantial portion of the channels being adapted to fit within the recess region. 
   
   
     3. The vehicle seat of  claim 2 , wherein at least one of the plurality of channels has a generally u-shaped cross section. 
   
   
     4. The vehicle seat of  claim 3 , wherein the body comprises closed cell foam. 
   
   
     5. The vehicle seat of  claim 1 , wherein the cover has an upper and a lower surface, the lower surface is coupled to the body, and the upper surface is generally flush with an upper surface of the seat cushion when the insert is disposed in the seat cushion. 
   
   
     6. The vehicle seat of  claim 5 , wherein the cover comprises an air permeable material. 
   
   
     7. The vehicle seat of  claim 1 , wherein the recess region has a generally u-shaped inner surface, and the insert has a corresponding u-shaped outer surface configured to mate with the inner surface of the recess region. 
   
   
     8. The vehicle seat of  claim 1 , wherein the elongated passages have a hydraulic diameter in the range of about 12 to 17 millimeters. 
   
   
     9. The vehicle seat of  claim 1 , wherein the body further comprises a flange that that extends generally parallel to the upper surface of the seat, the cover being coupled to the body at the flange and having a width that is equal to or less than the width of a substantial portion of the plurality of elongated passages. 
   
   
     10. The vehicle seat of  claim 1 , wherein the cover is coupled to the body by an adhesive. 
   
   
     11. The vehicle seat of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the body and the cover is configured to extend beneath a tie down trench of a seat such that at least one of the openings of the cover is on either side of the tie down trench. 
   
   
     12. The vehicle seat of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one stiffener extending across the at least one of the plurality of channels. 
   
   
     13. The vehicle seat of  claim 1 , wherein the cover comprises closed cell foam and an adhesive couples the cover and the body. 
   
   
     14. The vehicle seat of  claim 1 , wherein a substantial portion of the cover is generally flat having a uniform thickness.